Where do you sit?
By Kathy Gress, director, Columbia College-Springfield
Have you given much thought to where you sit in the classroom and why?
Many studies have been conducted to determine the best place to sit in the classroom. According to Chris Hakala, a psychology professor and director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Western New England University, where students choose to sit in a classroom can have an effect on how professors perceive them.
Many believe that students who sit in the front of the classroom tend to be less distracted and therefore will have better grades than those who sit in the back of the classroom. However, Hakala feels that if a student is not doing well, placing them in the front of the class will not necessarily guarantee that they will have better grades.
Why? Many students may not want to sit in the front of the classroom because of the fear that they may be called on to answer questions and are forced to make eye contact with the instructor. Deborah Riker, a dean at York Pennsylvania College, believes where students sit depends on certain factors. She believes the main factors include how good their eyesight is, where their friends are sitting and if they’re late to class, which usually means only seats in the front are available.
I am sure we would all agree that it is important that you feel comfortable no matter where you decide to sit. So, where do you sit in the classroom and why? Food for thought.
Best of luck this session!
Help wanted: Employers seek liberal arts degrees
by Department of Marketing (go to top)
Good news, lovers of literature, admirers of Aristotle and supporters of the social sciences! Liberal arts degrees are relevant and in demand in today’s workforce, and there’s research to back that up.
Recent studies confirm what small liberal arts colleges have always known: Employers value a well-rounded education that equips people with skills separating the humans from the bots.
In fact, that’s the gist of a report released last year by Emsi, a labor market analytics firm and the Strada Institute for the Future of Work.
In the study, researchers examined millions of resumes and job postings and found STEM employers are hiring more candidates who have liberal arts degrees. A separate study conducted in 2017 by Hart Research Associates found that business executives and hiring managers list communication, critical thinking and decision making as the top skills they value.
These are all proficiencies you develop with a liberal arts education. So what does this mean for you?
Regardless of what you’re majoring in, you are earning a degree grounded in liberal arts at Columbia College. You’re becoming a more globally engaged, well-rounded citizen.
And it means the jobs are there. Employers want candidates who have foundational knowledge in a variety of subject areas and the “soft” skills gained in a liberal arts programs. They’re seeking well-rounded, innovative individuals who have the ability to learn and be flexible in an ever-evolving workplace.
So, rejoice, history buffs. Raise a glass, philosophers. Applaud, patrons of the arts.
A liberal arts degree remains an investment worth making.
Can I really afford summer courses?
by Department of Student Success and Money Stacks (go to top)
Summer is here and for some this comes as a welcomed break. For others who might be looking to get to the graduation finish line as soon as possible, summer can drag on with anticipation of the upcoming fall semester when you can start classes again. If you are someone that already loves the idea of summer courses, the next step might be figuring out how to afford them. For those of you that relish the break, remember that taking four courses over two summers (two courses each summer) could help you graduate an entire semester early.
Here in the Department of Student Success, we understand that deciding to take summer courses can be the easy part and affording them the hard part. We want to help take the guess work out of your options. The first step is to figure out if you could afford to pay anything over the summer, and if so, how much? Even $50/month can make a difference. This is potentially what you could put towards one of the Columbia College payment plans.
If you are a Federal Pell Grant recipient, you could have the option to use funds this summer as well. If you attended part-time at any point in the Fall 2018 or Spring 2019 semesters, you will likely have leftover eligibility that has been already moved over to the summer semester.
If you received Pell, but attended full-time in the fall and spring semesters, you still may have an option. Year-Round Pell is an initiative that allows a student to use up to an additional 50% of their annual eligibility. This means if you enrolled full-time (at least 12 credit hours) over the summer semester, you could use an additional 50% in the summer. It is important to remember that to use Year-Round Pell, you need to be enrolled at least half-time or in six hours for the semester. Many students have concerns that they will run out of Pell Grant eligibility if they utilize it over the summer. Pell Grant-eligible students have a lifetime eligibility of up to 600% (e.g., if 100% is used each year, 600% equals 6 years). The best way to see how much you have used is to visit NSLDS.
The final option is to look at utilizing loans. If you haven’t already hit the annual eligibility limit, you can request to use some of your loans for summer. The best place to check and see how much you have borrowed this year is through your Award Letter on CougarTrack and compare that to the annual limits listed on the Columbia College website.
If you have already utilized your full eligibility this year, but you want to plan ahead for next year, this is the perfect time to do so. As you receive your 2019-20 aid package consider allocating loans for Summer 2020.
If you are interested in taking summer courses and want to see if you have any eligibility, you can review your Financial Aid information on Self-Service, contact your campus, call the Enrollment Service Center at (573) 875-7252 or email Financial Aid at financialaid@ccis.edu.
Late summer session courses start on June 24.
Need Help With Career Planning? Try Focus2!
by Grossnickle Career Services Center (go to top)
Have you wondered what you need in a job that will make you happy? Confused about what types of positions your major will lead to or what major you want to choose? Perhaps you want to reinforce your plan and feel more confident it’s the right choice for you? If you answered yes to any of these, you might be interested in taking advantage of Focus2 – a resource for career planning that is free for all Columbia College students and alumni.
Focus2 is a self-paced online career and education planning tool that consists of five separate assessments including separate ones on Work Interests, Values, Personality, Skills, Leisure Interests and Career Planning Readiness. After completing as many assessments you wish, you can navigate the results and find occupations that match your interests and values. From there, you can explore occupations and understand what it will take to get there. You can save favorites for future deeper exploration or to talk it over with an advisor. It typically takes a student about 45 minutes to complete all the assessments.
In addition to finding information on potential careers, you can also work with Focus2 to create a career action plan. It will show where you are on the career decision process and what steps you can take to move forward.
Focus2 is easy to access. Start off here and use the access code ccis3977 when you create your profile. When answering questions, go with your first instinct. You don’t want to spend too long on an individual question or you might bias your response. After you are done, you will immediately get the results and if you would like to speak about those with a career counselor, contact us at careerservices@ccis.edu or (573) 875-7425 to set up an appointment.
Nexis Uni has replaced LexisNexis Academic
By Stafford Library (go to top)
We are proud to offer the new and improved LexisNexis Academic, called Nexis Uni. Designed with input from university students, Nexis Uni addresses the three components requested most by users: personalization, collaboration and quick discovery. It offers intuitive searching for all levels of research experience, empowering students to access discipline-focused pages with curated news and featured publications for political science, business and criminal justice majors.
Students who have grown up googling will appreciate the streamlined interface of Nexis Uni as a research tool. It begins at the big search box. Students can quickly conduct either natural language or complex Boolean searches across the entire content collection, making it an ideal tool for novice and advanced researchers alike.
Nexis Uni delivers unmatched depth and quality content, with more than 15,000 news, legal and business sources. Nexis Uni helps students find credible, full-text sources including:
- Print and online journals, television and radio broadcasts, newswires and blogs
- Local, regional, national and international newspapers with deep archives
- Extensive legal sources for federal and state cases and statutes, including U.S. Supreme Court decisions since 1790
- Unparalleled business information on more than 80 million U.S. and international companies and more than 75 million executives
Students can access Nexis Uni from Stafford Library’s list of databases, or directly at library.ccis.edu/Nexisuni. The library has also left the Lexis Nexis Academic entry in the database list with instructions to find Nexis Uni until students and staff become familiar with the change.
Enter your CougarTrack username and password when prompted if accessing the database from off campus. As always, you can contact Stafford Library by emailing library@ccis.edu or calling (573) 875-7381 or (800) 231-2391, ext. 7381.
